Maigret (1960 TV series)

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Maigret
Maigret (1960 tv series) titlecard.jpg
Genre Crime drama
Created byGeorges Simenon
Written by Giles Cooper (19 episodes) and 9 others
Starring
Theme music composer Ron Grainer
Opening themeThe Maigret Theme
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes52, [1] (plus a pilot episode in 1959)
Production
Executive producerAndrew Osborn
Running time50 minutes [1]
Production company BBC
Release
Original network BBC TV
Picture format 1.33 : 1 Black & white
Original release1960 (1960) –
1963 (1963)

Maigret is a British television series made by the BBC and which – following a pilot episode broadcast in 1959 – ran for 52 episodes from 1960 to 1963. [1]

Contents

Based on the Maigret stories of Georges Simenon, the series starred Rupert Davies in the title role.

Unlike most BBC series produced in the 1960s, all episodes (bar the pilot) have survived intact, and are available as a complete set on DVD and Blu-ray.

In 2022 the series was broadcast by UK television channel Talking Pictures TV.

Cast

The series starred Rupert Davies as the Police Judiciaire detective Commissaire Jules Maigret, who took up the role in 1960 after Basil Sydney, who had played Maigret in the pilot episode, was unable to continue. [1]

The main cast were:-

Episodes included such well-known faces as Stratford Johns, Leon Cortez, Terence Alexander, Roger Delgado, William Franklyn, Michael Goodliffe, and Barry Foster, among others. [2]

Although staying largely true to the storyline of the books, the series featured only three of Maigret's team of detectives (the "faithful four" [3] ), omitting any casting for Janvier, although the character is mentioned in several episodes.

Rupert Davies Rupert Davies as Maigret in Murder on Monday.jpg
Rupert Davies

The choice of Davies to play Maigret was enthusiastically approved by Simenon himself. Remembering the role in a 1964 interview Davies said "When Andrew Osborn, the producer of the show, offered me the part on Good Friday in 1960, I knew very little about Maigret. I knew he was a famous French fictional detective, but that was all." Rather than read the books to get the feel for the character, Davies thought it would be better to meet Maigret's creator and hear from him how he saw the character. The BBC agreed and a meeting was arranged between Davies and Simenon in Lausanne. [4]

"The moment Simenon saw me he shouted: "C'est Maigret, c'est Maigret. You are the flesh and bones of Maigret!" Davies later remembered. "That was a wonderful beginning. Then he drove us to his lovely château in the village of Échandens, where I met his wife. Later he began to coach me in Maigret's idiosyncrasies." [4]

Simenon himself said of Davies "At last, I have found the perfect Maigret!" [5]

Production

The series was written by a set of ten writers, each contributing individual episodes; the most prolific being Giles Cooper, credited with nineteen episodes, and Roger East, with twelve. [2]

Directing was similarly shared by sixteen directors, with Gerard Glaister and Terence Williams responsible for eight each, Andrew Osborn seven, and Eric Tayler six. [2] Each episode was shot in black-and-white and lasted 50 minutes, and (as it was made for the BBC) was intended to be screened without commercial breaks. It was shot mainly in studio, though many of the exteriors were filmed on location in Paris.

Theme music and various incidental music was composed by Ron Grainer [6] for which he won an Ivor Novello award. [6] Apart from the pilot, all 52 episodes remain within the BBC's archives. [7]

On Sunday, February 9, 1969, BBC One London aired Maigret at Bay as part of its series BBC Play of the Month. [8] This feature-length movie was based on the 1964 novel Maigret Defends Himself (Maigret se défend), and featured Rupert Davies, Helen Shingler, and Neville Jason reprising their series roles of Commissaire Maigret, Madame Maigret, and Lapointe, respectively. [9]

Episodes

(with dates of first broadcast on BBC TV)

Pilot episode
TitleFirst shownBased onNotes [10]
Maigret and the Lost Life12 April 1959Inspector Maigret and the Dead Girl
Maigret et la Jeune Morte 		1954 novel: Starring Basil Sydney as Maigret
Series 1
TitleFirst shownBased onNotes [11]
Murder in Montmartre31 October 1960 Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper
Maigret au « Picratt's » 		1951 novel: Rupert Davies takes over as Maigret
Unscheduled Departure7 November 1960 Maigret Has Scruples
Les Scrupules de Maigret 		1958 novel
The Burglar's Wife14 November 1960 Maigret and the Burglar's Wife
Maigret et le Grand Perche 		1951 novel
The Revolver21 November 1960 Maigret's Revolver
Le Revolver de Maigret 		1952 novel
The Old Lady28 November 1960Maigret and the Old Lady
Maigret et la Vieille Dame 		1950 novel
Liberty Bar5 December 1960Liberty Bar
Liberty Bar 		1932 novel
A Man of Quality12 December 1960The Death of Monsieur Gallet
Monsieur Gallet, décédé 		1931 novel
My Friend the Inspector19 December 1960My Friend Maigret
Mon ami Maigret 		1949 novel
The Mistake26 December 1960 Maigret's Mistake
Maigret se trompe 		1953 novel
On Holiday2 January 1961A Summer Holiday
Les Vacances de Maigret 		1948 novel
The Experts9 January 1961Inspector Maigret and the Killers
Maigret, Lognon, et les Gangsters 		1952 novel
The Cactus16 January 1961Maigret Takes a Room
Maigret en meublé 		1951 novel
The Children's Party23 January 1961 The Crime of Inspector Maigret
Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien 		1931 novel
Series 2
TitleFirst shownBased onNotes [11]
Shadow Play23 October 1961The Shadow in the Courtyard
L'Ombre chinoise 		1932 novel
The Simple Case30 October 1961 Maigret and the Headless Corpse
Maigret et le Corps sans tête 		1955 novel
Death of a Butcher6 November 1961 Maigret's Failure
Un échec de Maigret 		1956 novel
The Winning Ticket13 November 1961 Maigret's Dead Man
Maigret et son mort 		1948 novel
Inspector Lognon's Triumph20 November 1961Maigret and the Surly Inspector
Maigret et l'Inspecteur malgracieux 		1946 short story
The Lost Sailor27 November 1961Death of a Harbour Master
Le Port des brumes 		1932 novel
The Golden Fleece4 December 1961The Lock at Charenton
L'Écluse No 1 		1933 novel
Raise Your Right Hand11 December 1961Maigret in Court
Maigret aux assises 		1960 novel
The Liars18 December 1961 Maigret Goes to School
Maigret à l'école 		1954 novel
A Crime for Christmas26 December 1961Maigret's Christmas
Un Noël de Maigret 		1950 short story
The Reluctant Witnesses1 January 1962Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses
Maigret et les Témoins récalcitrants 		1959 novel
The White Hat8 January 1962Madame Maigret's Own Case
L'Amie de madame Maigret 		1950 novel
Murder on Monday15 January 1962 Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard
Maigret et l'Homme du banc 		1953 novel
Series 3
TitleFirst shownBased onNotes [11]
Voices from the Past24 September 1962Maigret in Society
Maigret et les Vieillards 		1960 novel
The Madman of Vervac1 October 1962The Madman of Bergerac
Le Fou de Bergerac 		1932 novel
The Countess8 October 1962 Maigret and the Countess
L'Affaire Saint-Fiacre 		1932 novel
The Wedding Guest15 October 1962 Guinguette by the Seine
Guingette à deux sous 		1931 novel
High Politics22 October 1962Maigret and the Minister
Maigret chez le ministre 		1954 novel
Love from Felicie29 October 1962Maigret and the Toy Village
Félicie est là 		1944 novel
The Dirty House5 November 1962 Maigret in Retirement
Maigret se fâche 		1947 novel
The Crystal Ball12 November 1962To Any Lengths
Signé Picpus 		1944 novel
The Crooked Castle19 November 1962 Maigret at the Crossroads
La Nuit du carrefour 		1931 novel
Death in Mind26 November 1962 A Battle of Nerves
La Tête d'un homme 		1931 novel
Seven Little Crosses3 December 1962Sept Petites Croix dans un CarnetA non-Maigret short story included in the 1951 collection Maigret's Christmas (Un Noël de Maigret)
The Trap10 December 1962 Maigret Sets a Trap
Maigret tend un piège 		1955 novel
The Amateurs17 December 1962Maigret and the Lazy Burglar
Maigret et le Voleur paresseux 		1961 novel
Series 4
TitleFirst shownBased onNotes [11]
Poor Cecile1 October 1963Maigret and the Spinster
Cécile est morte 		1940 novel
The Fontonay Murders8 October 1963Maigret Afraid
Maigret a peur 		1953 novel
The Lost Life15 October 1963Maigret and the Dead Girl
Maigret et la Jeune Morte 		1954 novel: (remake of 1959 pilot)
The Cellars of the Majestic22 October 1963 Maigret and the Hotel Majestic
Les Caves du Majestic 		1939 novel
A Man Condemned29 October 1963Maigret has Doubts
Une confidence de Maigret 		1959 novel
The Flemish Shop5 November 1963The Flemish Shop
Chez les Flamands 		1932 novel
A Taste of Power12 November 1963 Maigret's First Case
La Première Enquête de Maigret, 1913 		1949 novel
The Log of the Cap Fagnet19 November 1963 The Sailors' Rendezvous
Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas 		1931 novel
The Judge's House26 November 1963 Maigret in Exile
La Maison du juge 		1940 novel
Another World3 December 1963Maigret and the Millionaires
Maigret voyage 		1957 novel
The Crime at Lock 1410 December 1963 The Crime at Lock 14
Le Charretier de la Providence 		1931 novel
Peter the Lett17 December 1963 The Strange Case of Peter the Lett
Pietr-le-Letton 		1931 novel
Maigret's Little Joke24 December 1963Maigret's Little Joke
Maigret s'amuse 		1957 novel

Home media

In May 2021, Network Distributing announced the Blu-Ray release of the series (to be released August 2021), with a DVD release soon to follow. [12]

The DVD set of 14 discs does not include the booklet found in the Blu-Ray edition. Sleeve notes inform that the series has been "remastered from original film elements", most likely meaning Kinescope films as distributed world-wide, "original fullscreen TV format".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jules Maigret</span> Fictional French police detective

Jules Maigret, or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a commissaire ("commissioner") of the Paris Brigade Criminelle, created by writer Georges Simenon. The character's full name is Jules Amédée François Maigret.

<i>The Strange Case of Peter the Lett</i> 1931 novel by Georges Simenon

The Strange Case of Peter the Lett is a 1931 detective novel by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon. It is the first novel to feature Inspector Jules Maigret who would later appear in more than a hundred stories by Simenon and who has become a legendary figure in the annals of detective fiction.

<i>Maigret Has Scruples</i> Novel by Georges Simenon

Maigret Has Scruples is a detective novel by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon featuring his character Jules Maigret.

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<i>Maigret and the Yellow Dog</i>

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<i>Maigret</i> (1992 TV series) British TV series or programme

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<i>Maigret Sets a Trap</i>

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Maigret and the Coroner is a detective novel by Belgian writer Georges Simenon, featuring his character inspector Jules Maigret. The novel was written between July 21 to July 30, 1949, in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The book was published in October, same year by Presses de la Cité.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pitts 2004.
  2. 1 2 3 Maigret: full cast and crew at IMDb; retrieved 17 May 2016
  3. ↑ Maigret's faithful four at trussel.com; retrieved 17 May 2016
  4. 1 2 Maigret (1960) on Television Heaven
  5. ↑ Winn 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Ron Grainer". BBC . Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Maigret at lostshows.com".
  8. ↑ https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/2709647d67e549e3bf35059515e91a0e . Retrieved 26 April 2023.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ "Maigret: Classic Mystery Series Starring Rupert Davies Now Available for Streaming". The British TV Place. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  10. ↑ Basil Sydney at trussel.com; retrieved 15 May 2016
  11. 1 2 3 4 Rupert Davies at trussel.com; retrieved 15 May 2016
  12. ↑ "Maigret: The Complete Series [DELUXE LIMITED EDITION] SOLD OUT".

Sources

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